French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out appointing a prime minister from the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) alliance, which had the most votes in a recent snap election but would likely face an immediate no-confidence vote in parliament, Reuters reports.
The snap election resulted in a hung parliament, with no party holding a majority in the parliament, splitting the vote between the NFP, Macron’s centrist bloc, and the far-right National Rally. The NFP, a coalition of various leftist parties, has demanded that their candidate Lucie Castets be made prime minister, but Macron has so far ignored this request. The far-right National Rally party has vowed to block any NFP candidate, complicating Macron’s efforts to resolve the political deadlock.
Macron is considering alternative candidates, including conservative and former Socialist figures, but whoever he selects will need parliamentary approval. Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, suggested Macron could call a referendum to break the deadlock but opposed the idea of a government led by apolitical technocrats.
